Prep Baseball: Aquin holds off Forreston/Polo

FORRESTON — With its cozy dimensions, Bob Dietz Memorial Field caters to hitters even on a normal day.

The fact that a strong wind was blowing out made Aquin feel even less safe with the lead in a game that it never trailed.

“It felt like a long game,” Aquin starting pitcher Anthony Townsend said Tuesday.

After taking the lead in the third inning, the Bulldogs (8-4, 7-1) managed to tack on enough insurance tallies with the help of some shaky Cardinals defense, and they survived 8-5 — a victory that propelled them to the top of the NUIC East standings, a game ahead of Forreston/Polo (12-8, 9-2).

The Cardinals loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the seventh, but Townsend managed to get out the jam without giving up a run, and the Bulldogs were thankful to escape with a win.

“Especially with this type of ballpark,” Aquin coach Todd Kramer said. “You’re never safe in this park. It was just a great team effort for us tonight especially against a good Forreston team. This ballpark puts a lot of pressure on you just because you can’t make a mistake and now when the wind is blowing out to right field, it makes it stressful. The kids bore down and made plays when they needed to.”

Aquin took the lead for good with three runs in the top of the third, two of which came on back-to-back RBI doubles by Townsend and Ryan Bausman. Forreston/Polo fought back with two in the bottom of the fourth on a Brayden Wierzycki two-run homer to straightaway center field, but the Cardinals gave the Bulldogs four runs back in the top of the fifth and another in the sixth.

Four of the five were unearned, as the Cardinals struggled to field the ball cleanly on defense. They committed six errors on the day.

“You can’t play a good team and expect to win when you have six errors,” Forreston coach Kyle Zick said. “To their credit, they hit the ball. But realistically we’ve got to field the ball better and we know we can. It’s just a matter of fixing some things.”

Ethan Groom started for Forreston/Polo and took the loss, giving up four earned runs in five innings. The Bulldogs backed Townsend with better defense, committing only one error and saving one run when third baseman Jaryd Whitmore made a diving stop and threw to second to get a key force out with runners on in the fourth.

“I’ve got a good defense behind me,” Townsend said. “It’s a small ballpark but I threw strikes and my guys made plays.”

The Cardinals won’t have to wait long to get another crack at the Bulldogs. The teams square off again Thursday.

“Conference is still up for grabs,” Zick said. “We can still get a piece of this thing.”

“They’re a good team,” Townsend said of Forreston/Polo. “We’ve got to come ready, put the ball in play, throw strikes and keep doing what we’re doing. We’re playing pretty good ball right now.”